Sandy's

This Monday night in October was especially beautiful in Austin, TX knowing that the Texas Longhorns football team was number 1 in the nation. What better way to celebrate than with a burger. Matt and Ed's Austin Burger Odyssey continued to Sandy's.

This Old Lady of Barton Springs Road is steeped in history, having tossed out its first burgers when the U.S. and the Empire of Japan were battling for control of the Pacific and no one had ever heard of McDonald's. It has stood strong even as a Whataburger set up shop right next to it, which FriedEd finds akin to pushing around little girls. This history and resilience earns Sandy's big points in our book, er blog.

As for the Burger, Fried Ed and Burger Matt stayed with the theme of the double cheeseburger, fries and a drink. But, this week FriedEd went a little crazy and substituted a chocolate shake for the longtime Dr. Pepper favorite. The Sandy's burger has a thin paddy and thin bread and comes topped with mustard for its sauce. FriedEd appreciates the thin bread and thin paddy but felt something overall was missing to add an extra zing. While the paddy is tasty, and tastes like meat, it lacks a watery salty taste that a Jack's burger would deliver. And it lacked the gooey taste of a P.Terry's burger.

FriedEd was not impressed with the fries either, wondering if Sandy's runs down the street to the McDonald's and orders baskets of fries a few times a night and serves them up to their customers. The shake was a different story. FriedEd knew he had something good when he sucked on the straw and nothing came out except a little bit of a headache on his part. A nice, slow moving shake requires a spoon and is an excellent compliment to a burger, if not to the stomach. FriedEd should have never doubted it.

The patio of Sandy's rounds out the historic feel and doesn't seemed to have changed since at least the 1960's. It is simple and honest with wooden tables, tin roofs, and a shaky radio as if to say "the only reason you are here is to eat good burgers, what do you care what it looks like." Amid the national chain burger places nearby, Sandy's stands as the Queen of Barton Springs, but definitely does not supplant the King of Barton Springs, P. Terry's.

Fried Ed's Score:
Burger: 85
Fries: 74
Shake: 90
Average score of chicks around: 4
Feel of stomach an hour later: 85

BurgerMatt:
I too liked the atmosphere that gives you that south Austin charm at its finest. The burger in my eyes was tasty yet lacked some grease and some extra sauce. It was a bit dry but had the right idea. I, on the other hand, enjoyed the fries as I am fond of salty thin fries, a la McDonald's fries. While this burger was good and the history of the place gave a nostalgic feel I continue my search for the perfect Austin Burger. One last note, the custard after dinner which they are known for, was delicious. May be worth it just to go back for that.

Burger: 85
Fries:86
Custard:92